DUI 400g - Still King of the Hill?

[dbulmer]

Piiki.
I saw one report - I think it was on Yorkshire Divers but I've seen you on DIRX so you might want to ask Bardo there and BTW it's not out until April 2008 AFAIK

 

[dbulmer]

Correction - I don't think Bardo has tried the suit but I have seen a picture of the suit

 

[RTodd]

Perrone, since you live in Florida and are not doing 14hrs cave dives like the WKPP, I'd think a 400gram thinsulate would be way overkill for your (local) needs.

A 150-300g fleece does me great on cave dives up to 2 hr in length. In 72 degree water, a flood is even a non issue on these types of dives. On occasion when I have had a suit flood, I never known it until I got out of the water.

Two hours mostly swimming maybe. While tolerances differ, once you add scootering, longer decos, etc, you really need 400G in Florida too. The goal is to be toasty warm the whole dive, which helps optomize deco and fun, not for it to be tolerable. Plus, flooding a suit with fleece undergarments 1 hour into a cave would make for a very unpleasant exit. 400g wears out fairly fast. It is just another one of the expensive expendables for more advanced diving, sort of like a less extreme version of tire replacement costs if you track cars. You just have to accept it if you want to play.

 

[JeffG]

This is really based on a person's tolerance to cold. I wear my Weezle pretty paper thin and I'm still warm as heck, even in 35F water. Some people may need more air to keep warm. I found that when I dove the 400g, I had to use more air in the suit just to keep the squeeze off, than I did for the Weezle.

Type of undergarment is a personal choice and as long as it works with minimal gas in the suit and can keep you warm when flooded, then why isn't DIR?

The 400's and the Extreme+ must be close then because I consider my 400's the warmest underwear that I have. (They are also brand new) The Extreme+ are pretty close though.

I've dove both flooded (not on purpose LOL) and they both worked good.

Both undies I have used Ice diving. (water temp 33 deg F)

The Weezles do travel better though. They squish up into a smaller package.

 

[Blitz]

The last hardcore dive I did was in a weezle extreme +. 128 minutes And still toasty.

 

[Jasonmh]

Anyone have experience with the Santi 400g undergarment?
SANTI Dry Suits Undersuits for Divers - made to measure at a reasonable price! Dry suits, thermal underwear
Seems to have some nice features.

I have not done any real cold water diving (59 degrees was the coldest), but want to do some in the future. Would like to go to the PNW, Great Lakes, Iceland, and do some ice diving. So I am starting to look for some suitable undergarments. No one sells anything like that where I am, so no chance to really see anything in person before buying.
Some of the features of the Santi seem like a good idea, like the extra strech panel at the shoulders. What do most of you who dive in really cold water wear under a suit like this?
Thanks

 

[Rainer]

I think that's what Soggy dives. You might want to shoot him a PM, as I haven't seen him post here in awhile.

 

[PerroneFord]

Well,

I got to dive the 400g this weekend. And more than that, I got to pick the brain of one of the primary support divers from the WKPP. Very interesting conversation that conflicted with what some of the "experts" here have suggested. However, the DUI 400g is still the king of the hill for the WKPP and the TLS350 is still the suit of choice. After this weekend, I have a much better understanding of why on both items.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts. If you'd like to continue using this thread to discuss other options feel free. I got what I needed. (and the XXL 400g fit just fine to my surprise.

 

[rookers]

I have the 400g suit and it is extremely warm. It also displaces so much that you need a bit of lead to sink it and the previous comment about it not stretching is spot on. One really has to get a bit of gas into the suit to get much in the way of shoulder mobility.
I also have the 4th element xerotherm arctic, and use it for 'intermediate' situations not requiring the DUI suit. I really like the 4th element stuff, it is very warm for the weight, and it stretches well, I have not layered it up to try it in really cold condx, perhaps this winter I will.

 

[nadwidny]

Very interesting conversation that conflicted with what some of the "experts" here have suggested.

I can't really see where anybody on this thread tried to come across as any sort of "expert".

However, the DUI 400g is still the king of the hill for the WKPP and the TLS350 is still the suit of choice. After this weekend, I have a much better understanding of why on both items.

Care to let everybody else know?